Two former Swiss diplomats are on trial for allegedly smuggling and selling spirits in Saudi Arabia, where alcohol is banned, reported Al-Watan.

According to Saudi authorities, the Swiss deputy consul at

the embassy in Saudi Arabia and another civil servant smuggled more than 9,000 bottles of spirits and nearly 3,000 bottles of champagne into the country, along with approximately 21,000 cans of beer between August 1995 and May 1997.

Saudi Arabia has long been known as a non-existent market in the commercial sense for alcoholic drink manufacturers and producers wishing to penetrate new markets in the Middle East. The Kingdom strictly prohibits the consumption of alcohol for religious reasons. Foreigners have spent up to a year in Saudi prisons for alcohol-related offenses. — (menareport.com)